Lighter hydrolift device



April 28,7 1970 E. G. FRANKEL 3,508,510

LIGHTER HYDROLIFT DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 21, 1968 OOGOOApril 28, 1970 E. G. FRANKEL LIGHTER HYDROLIFT DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Aug. 2l, 1968 O 6 m M 4 m l A o m m o l/ O l 2 u. 4 3 ...Ilm 4 u..w o 8 o I n n L 9 \IF, 5

INVENTOR.

ERNST G. FRANKEL BY wum. Q. ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,508,510LIGHTER HYDROLIFT DEVICE Ernst G. Frankel, Boston, Mass., assignor toLitton Systems, Inc., Beverly Hills, Calif., a corporation of MarylandFiled Aug. 21, 1968, Ser. No. 754,351 Int. Cl. B63b 35/44 U.S. Cl.114-435 11 `Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A marine vessel having acargo-Well construction which is adapted to load and unload buoyantcargo by using a hull section which is pivotally connected to a bottomsection which is pivotally connected to the vessel for opening the Wellwhereby the sections act as gates and ramps and, in addition, the bottomsection in combination with integral ballast compartments and powermeans acts as a hydrolift device. The loading and unloading methodinvolves opening the Well by turning and submerging the hull section andactivating the hydrolift device for raising cargo into, or loweringcargo out of, the well.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an improved deviceand method for loading and unloading a marine vessel and, moreparticularly, to an operable well construction and associatedoperational method which launches, docks and retrieves buoyant cargo orvehicles, such as lighters, barges, etc., in the hull of the marinevessel.

As by introduction, it might be Well to point out that throughouthistory ships have been built which can load and unload substantial,large objects into their holds without hoisting those objects over theships side (or railing). Such ships can be divided into two differenttypes; the first type uses a so-called dry solid ramp or well with anoutside gate, and the second type uses a wet-well configuration. Asknown to stevedores in particular, the use of a dry ramp or wellrequires powerful mechanical towing or conveying devices while the useof a wet-fwell requires massive ballasting requirements and associatedpumping equipment to stabilize and trim the ships draught.

The present invention does not use powerful mechanical towing orconveying devices nor does it need the overall ballasting requirementsas needed by the dry solid ramp or wet-well configuration, respectively.It achieves the ad vantages of both types of cargo-handlingsystemswithout these noted disadvantages.

Besides being able to dock, launch and retrieve lighters within the hullof a marine vessel by a method comprising a few simple steps, anadditional advantage of greater magnitude and importance resides in thepotential usefulness and application of the invention, This importantadvantage can be easily recognized when comparing the invention with thesystems mentioned above, wherein it is a known fact that a marine vesselwhich has a construction employing a wet or dry well classifies thevessel into a distinct minority group of special ships built forparticular purposes, i.e., such as oating docks, whale-fishing factoryvessels, etc. However, that fact may change soon since the presentinvention through its uniqueness, simplicity and compactness can be usedin almost every existing freighter. As is well-known through themerchant marine industry, one of the largest financial losses occursywhen a freighter is delayed through circumstances such as: waiting forpilot services, waiting in line until the harbor is clear, or as iscustomary in many ports with poor harbor facilities, having to anchoroffshore ice while waiting to make arrangements with stevedores forloading or unloading purposes. Furthermore, sea conditions and/orweather conditions such as fog and rain can prevent the entering of theport, often causing excessive delays. In addition, the expense and theavailability of longshoremen and possible sudden strikes have many timesturned a promising profitable cargo haul into a heavy financial loss. Asknown to people having experience in the merchant marine business, oneor more of the above-mentioned delay-causing occurrences do happen quitefrequently and do occur on practically every regular freighter voyage.Thus, it will be understood that the present invention, wherein yafreighter carries its own lighters or barges for loading and unloadingpurposes and where the method of launching, docking and retrieval ofthese lighters can be done by a simple method, offers a very importantfinancial and time-saving advantage which -will undoubtedly beattractive to the shipping business of the future.

In general, the construction of the device comprises at least one wellwhich is a distinct part of the hold of the ship. The hold of the shipis meant herein to comprise the whole interior of the ship below deck.The iocation of the iwell could be anywhere in the hold, provided thatone side of the well is part of the outboard hull-side of the vessel.The well may have a horizontal or slightly inclined bottom inboardsurface, depending on the ships characteristics and cargo-handlingoperations, and one section of the bottom is pivotally hinged andconnected to a portion of the bottom of the vessel. The hinged bottomsection can either form a part of the underwater buoyancy portion of theships displacement body when in its retracted position or be designed topartially or completely be above the mean water level and form all orpart of the closure of the ships Well. The level of the hinge may be atthe mean water level or a few feet above or below the mean water level,depending on the ships hull characteristics and operating requirements.Preferably, the hinged bottom section is provided with internal ballastcompartments divided in an appropriate manner to permit adjusted sinkageof this well bottom section to any degree required. As a result ofballasting this bottom section, not only is it submerged by rotationlabout the hinge, but the added weight introduced by ballasting willresult in parallel sinkage of the ship and cause a positive gradient ofthe ships draft towards the well. This declining gradient willeffectively aid the unloading of cargo or the launching of lighters.

For retrieval operations the lighter is moved onto the submerged hingedsloping bottom section of the well until the bow touches the inboardsurface of the bottom section. Thereafter, the water ballast within theballast compartments of the bottom section is discharged by the use of apump, pneumatic pressure or other means causing a positive buoyancy tothe bottom section which will lift the lighter into the ships well. Whenthe bottom section is in its retracted position, the existence of adeclining inboard surface and/or anti-frictional devices mounted theretowill greatly assist in properly docking the lighter. In the preferredand most practical design of this invention, one sidewall of the wallbeing a side-hull section will be pivotally connected to the bottomsection and during loading and unloading or launching and retrievaloperations will be submerged to form an auX- iliary ramp or guidingmeans.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide animproved well construction in a marine vessel which construction isadapted to accomplish a variety of functions such as loading,transporting and unloading of objects into and out of the well area.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedwell construction in a marine vessel wherein the construction is adaptedto transport cargo in a simple manner without requiring heavy powermeans or massive balance systems.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improvedwell construction in a marine vessel which is applicable to most marinefreighters and does not require heavy capital investments.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improvedwell construction for marine vessels which is applicable forinstallation in most existing freighters and the well construction isused for the launching, docking and retrieval of lighters in order toprovide the freighter with independent cargo-handling means.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide an improved wellconstruction in which the construction itself employs a small powermeans to actuate a hydrolift means which can handle the transporting oflarge objects.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a methodfor loading and unloading of buoyant lading into or out of the shipshull mainly through the aid of gravitation and the regulation ofbuoyancy forces.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a methodfor launching and retrieval of buoyant objects into and out of a marinevessel during almost all weather and sea conditions.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent as the description proceeds but, in general, thepresent invention relates to a marine vessel which has as part of itshold a separate cargo-well construction which is adapted to conveylading. A bottom section of the well is provided with integral ballastcompartments which are pivotally connected to the vessel. Preferably, aside-hull section is pivotally connected to the bottom section and powermeans are connected to the ballast compartments of the bottom sectionfor regulating the contents of these compartments. Most likely, a pumpfor regulating the water contents of the ballast compartments is used sothat the pivotally connected bottom section can be submerged andpositioned into a predetermined ramp slope. Also, the pivotallyconnected bottom section in combination with the pump comprises ahydrolift means for raising and lowering cargo positioned on said bottomsection. It will be an advantage to have the upper surface of the bottomsection declining toward the pivoting arrangement so that when the cargois within the well the transportation thereof is aided by gravitation.When the well is opened by turning outboard the pivotally connectedside-hull section, the latter section may be submerged into apredetermined position with respect to the 4pivotally connectedsubmerged bottom section and used as an auxiliary ramp. Floating meansmay be connected to the hull section to serve as guiding or additionallifting components. In the preferred embodiment, the well constructionis located at the stern or bow portion of a ship, in which case thestern or bow side acts as a movable sidehull section. This movableside-hull section and a bottom well section are pivotally connected, andthe -bottom section and the remainder of the vessel are pivotallyconnected by a first and a second substantially horizontalathwartship-mounted watertight hinge assembly, respectively.

The side-hull and the bottom sections are substantially rectangularshaped and their upper surfaces are substantially level shaped at theinboard side. and, depending on the operational requirements, could beprovided with antifrictional means for transporting cargo.

Thus, in accordance with the above-described well construction, it willbe obvious that the loading and unloading procedures comprise a fewsimple steps such as: opening the cargo well by turning outwardly theside-hull section, submerging the bottom section, and activating pumpingmeans to regulate the buoyancy of that section for hydrolift purposes.

The above-mentioned objects, features and advantages will become moreapparent from the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein like character references are used toindicate like parts for each embodiment, and wherein:

FIG. l is a schematic side view of a freighter which has a partlybroken-away section showing, in the stern portion of the vessel, a wellconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are enlarged schematic views of the well shown in FIG.l wherein the figures sequentially illustra-te the steps for launchingor retrieving a lighter;

FIG. 5 is a schematic View of a bow or stern section which illustrates aslightly different embodiment of the invention.A

BRIEF DESCRIPTION oF THE DRAWINGS Referring now to the drawings, thereis shown in FIG. 1 a marine vessel 10 having holds 12 in which, ifrequired by bulkhead deck requirements, is mounted a vertically closedbulkhead 14 which extends substantially athwartship and separates theholds 12 in a specially constructed we'll area 16 and a remander area18. This separation, if required, can be penetrated by watertight doors(not shown).

As illustrated in FIG. l, a lighter 20 is shown in the position of beinglaunched or retrieved while another lighter 22 is floatingindependently. Both lighters 20 and 22 were stored side by side in thewell area 16 in such a Way that their longitudinal axes extendedparallel to the longitudinal axis of the vessel. However, it should beunderstood that the manner of storing the lighters or cargo is not partof the invention and also that efficient storing could beI accomplishedby positioning the lighters with their longitudinal axes perpendicularto the longitudinal axis of the vessel. Similarly depending on the widthof the well, a single lighter may be stored only in the athwartshipdirection.

The lighter 20 is partly positioned on an auxiliary submerged ramp 30and a submerged bottom section 32, which are both part of theconstruction of the well 16 and which operate in a special way which ismore clearly illustrated in the embodiment in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown an enlarged stern portion 40 of amarine vessel. Part of the stern portion 40 comprises a well 42, whichis part of a hold of a marine vessel similarly described in FIG. l. Thebottom of the well area comprises a pivotally connected bottom section44 and a permanently stationary mounted bottom portion 46. The bottomsection 44 comprises a plurality of integrally mounted ballastcompartments 48 which capacity is divided in an appropriate manner topermit adjusted draft sinkage, or submergence, of the movable bottomsection 44 to any degree required. In order to regulate the watercontents of the ballast compartments 48, a regulating means 50, such asa pump operating on a hydraulic, pneumatic pressure, electric or on anyother well-known system, is installed in the vessel and connected with aflexible coupling 52 to the ballast compartments 48 for adding orremoving water ballast to or from the ballast compartments 48 uponactivation of the. regulating means 50.

The stern closure, or side-hull section 54, is pivotally connected tothe bottom section 44. The pivoting connection with the side-hullsection 54 and the bottom section 44 comprises a substantiallyhorizontally athwartship watertight mounted hinge assembly 56, which ismore or less "similar to the hinge assembly 58, mounted between themovable bottom section 44 and the stationary bottom section 46. Inaddition, the side-hull section S4 is equipped with an optionallymounted, deated floating means 59,

with anti-frictional means 66 to aid in the launching and retrieval oflighters 6'8 and 70. In FIG. 2 the lighters 68 and 70 are illustrated tobe docked in the well 42, as during a regular voyage of the marinevessel having a pre determined draft A at the stern portion, asindicated.

In FIG. 3 the launching operation of the lighter 68 from the well 42 isillustrated. The side-hull section 54 has been turned outwardly aboutthe hinge assembly S6, as shown by the arrow, thus, opening the well 42.The bottom section 44 has been submerged, by adding water to the ballastcompartments `48, into a sloping position. The outside water 72 willpartly llood the well area 42, making it a wet-well configuration.Launching of the lighters 68 and 70 can be easily accomplished by movingsame along the declining sloping surfaces 64, 62 and 60, respectively.

For retrieval operations, the lighter 68 or 70 is moved onto thesubmerged sloping surfaces 62 and 64, then the water within the ballastcompartments 48 is discharged by the pump 50 which causes a positivebuoyancy to the bottom section 44 which, in turn, will retract itselfinto its former position, thereby lifting the lighter 68 into the wellarea 42. Thus, the pivotally connected bottom section 44 in combinationwith the pump 50 comprises a hydrolift means for raising and loweringcargo or lighters positioned on the bottom section 44 into and out ofthe well, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the surface 62 of the 'bottom section 44 has adeclining slope toward the hinge assembly 58 when the bottom section isin a retracted or closed position, which aids in the stowing and dockingof the lighter into the well as gravitational force.

As shown in FIG. 3, the normal draft A of the marine vessel has beenincreased to a certain depth B, as indicated, as a result of the floodedwell and the ballasted bottom section 44. Depending on the size of themarine vessel and other characteristics, it might be objectionable insome cases to increase the draft at the stern section. In particular, incases where the `movable bottom section comprises part of the underwaterbuoyancy of the vessel, this variation of draft may become disturbing tocertain hull stress limits.

In instances where the well is a relatively small section of a hold,i.e., in a large marine vessel, the increase in draft at the sternsection will be practically insignificant.

In FIG. 4, the ships draft increase B has been elimi nated by theadjusted inflation of the deflated flooding means 59 so that draft B1 issubstantially equal to the normal draft A. As shown in the preferredembodiment, two vertical inflated buoyant surface-piercing cylinders areattached at the port and starboard aft corners of the submergedside-hull section, forming the auxiliary ramp 54, which both provide acontrolled uplift and simultaneously a fendering or guidance to thelighterage. It is, of course, obvious that various retractable guides orfloating means can be installed at various locations along the movableramp 54 and the bottom section 44.

The slightly different embodiment of the invention shown in FI-G. 5 hasa bottom section 80 which raises partly above the mean water level whenin its retracted or closed position. A customary flat-bottom typelighter 82, having low frictional means 83 mounted underneath its bottomas a preferred `but optional means for handling, is shown in threedifferent positions. The three positions shown are from left to right, afree-lloating, a retrieving or launching, and a docking position. Thelighter 82 is docked, launched and/or retrievedvwith its longitudinalaxis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the marine vessel 84. Theside-hull section 86 is mounted to the vessel 84, since the well 88opens :through the submerging of bottom section 90 providing suflicientheight for the passing of the lighter 82. The well 88 will not beflooded during launching or retrieval periods since the mean water levelis kept below the hinge assembly 92. As an additional or optionalfeature, a mechanical lift-damper or buoyancy adjusting means (notshown) is attached to the cable 94, which cable also operates a pumpingmeans 96 mounted with the bottom section 90.

Accordingly, the pivotally connected bottom section acts as a door forsaid well, and the side-hull section 86 is adapted to be engaged by thebottom section for closing of the well and to be disengaged for openingof the well 88 upon activation of the regulating or pumping means 96.

Thus, a slightly different well construction with hydrolift means,substantially similar in operation as explained above in the preferredembodiments shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, has been presented in FIG. 5.

Various configurations of the ballast compartments within the bottomsection can be designed to assure proper distribution of forces andmovements to obtain the required damping of lighter impact forces, andlifting `'forces for the retrieval of various lighters which can beloaded in a multitude of fashions.

Thus, the invention presents a device capable of safely handling amultitude of buoyant cargo or lighter sizes and :configurations whichcan be equipped with low friction means, such as rubber rollers or otherdevices, for easy handling.

As is generally known, marine vessels are equipped with lifeboats orfloats which are mandatory and in accordance with the internationalsafety regulations for merchant marine vessels. The present inventionwhich enables a marine vessel to carry its own lighters which can belaunched in a minimum of time may be an added safety system and, ifregarded as such, may reduce the financial burden by incorporating thesafety provisions with the lighter-handling system, as disclosed.

This completes the description of the embodiments of the inventionillustrated herein. However, many modifications thereof will be apparentto persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit andscope of this invention. Therefore, Applicant does not wish to belimited to the particular details of the modifications of the inventionillustrated herein.

What is claimed is:

1. A marine vessel having as part of its hull, a well adapted to receiveand discharge cargo, comprising:

(a) a bottom section designed to act as a door for said well andincluding integral ballast compartments;

(b) regulating means connected to said ballast compartments forregulating the contents thereof to cause pivoting of said bottomsection; and

(c) a side-hull section pivotally connected to said bottom section andadapted to be engaged by said bottom section for closing said well andto be disengaged for opening said well upon activation of saidregulating means. i

2. A marine vessel having a well construction, as claimed in claim 1,wherein said means connected to said ballast compartments comprises apump for regulating the water contents in said compartments so that saidpivotally connected bottom section can be submerged and positioned intoa predetermined slope.

3. A marine vessel having a well construction, as claimed in claim 2,wherein said pivotally connected bottom section in combination with saidpump comprises a hydrolift means for raising and lowering cargopositioned on said bottom section.

4. A marine. vessel having a well construction as claimed in claim 2,wherein said bottom section has an upper surface which slopes towardsaid pivoting connection, located between said bottom section and saidvessel when said bottom section is in a closed position with respect tosaid cargo well so that transportation of said cargo from said surfaceinto said cargo well is aided by gravitation.

5. A marine vessel having a well construction, as claimed in claim 4,wherein said side-hull section comprises:

adjustable oating means for stabilizing said side-hull section when in asubmerged state into the required position with respect to saidpivotally connected bottom section; and

wherein said oating means are adapted to serve as guiding means duringloading and unloading activities.

6. A marine vessel having a well construction, as claimed in claim 5,wherein said pivoting connection, between said-hull section and saidbottom section and said pivoting connection between said bottom sectionand said vessel comprises a first and second substantially horizontallyathwartship mounted watertight hinge assembly, respectively.

7. A marine vessel having a well construction, as claimed in claim 6,wherein said side-hull section and said bottom section each includes asubstantially at surface inboard of said marine vessel havinganti-frictional means associated therewith for facilitating the movementof cargo in contact with said surfaces.

8. A method for handling cargo in a marine vessel for loading andunloading purposes, comprising the steps of:

(a) opening a cargo well of said vessel by turning outwardly a side-hullsection about a first pivitally ar-I ranged junction located between theside-hull section and a bottom section;

(b) submerging the bottom hull section about a second pivotally arrangedjunction located between the bottom section and the remainder of thebottom of said vessel into a sloping position;

(c) submerging the turned side-hull section;

(d) rendering positive buoyancy to buoyancy means connected to the hullsection;

(e) adjusting the buoyancy of the buoyancy means for stabilizing theposition of the submerged hull section at a pre-determined angle withrespect to the sloping of the bottom section; and

(f) moving cargo on and off the sloping bottom section for loading andunloading purposes, respectively.

9. A method for handling cargo in a marine vessel, as claimed in claim8, wherein the step of submerging the bottom section comprises:

rendering the bottom section heavier than the weight of the waterdisplaced by adding water to ballast compartments in said bottomsection; and

monitoring the quantity of added water in order to obtain a requiredsloping position of said bottom section. 10. A method for handling cargoin a vessel, as claimed in claim 8, wherein said step of moving cargo 0nthe sloping bottom section comprises:

positioning the cargo on the sloping bottom section in a predeterminedlocation;

activating pumping means for removing the water from the ballastcompartments of the bottom section, thereby increasing the buoyancy ofsaid bottom section for lifting the cargo into said well during loadingactivities.

11. A method for handling cargo in a marine vessel, as claimed in claim8, wherein said step of moving cargo on the sloping bottom sectioncomprises:

positioning the cargo on the bottom section in a predetermined location;

moving said cargo from said sloping bottom section over said hullsection toward a predetermined destination during unloading purposes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,694,996 ll/l954 Poche 114-435 X3,411,169 11/1968 Guerke 114-435 X FOREIGN PATENTS 185,821 9/1922 GreatBritain.

TRYGVE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner

